No More ‘Wahala’ in business registration-Bawumia

The Vice President of the Republic, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the automated business registration system, ‘e-Certificate’ and ‘e-Payment’ on the online portal of the Registrar General’s department with an assurance that the long delays associated with business registration is now a thing of the past.

Launching the system at the Banquet Hall, State House on Thursday, Dr. Bawumia described it as the “starting point to make Ghana the most business friendly nation in Africa.”

During a surprise visit to the Registrar General’s Department on 18th January, 2017, the Vice President charged the acting Registrar General to improve the turnaround time for business registration and speed up the process of going online with business registration after bitter complaints from clients of the Department.

“The objective of the e-Registration is to put in place an appropriate business registration and filing regime.

Reforms are also intended to lead to a reduction in the time and cost of registering businesses, the provision of customer friendly business registration” Dr Bawumia disclosed at the launch.

The Vice President highlighted how critical Information Communication Technology (ICT) is in the 21st century and pointed out that Ghana will leverage technology to effect a digital transformation.

“His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration has embraced this digital transformation and will lend his support to ensure the smooth operation of this process for improved customer satisfaction.

The importance of ICT cannot be overstated in this 21st century and Ghana will leap frog to catch up whenever the opportunity arises.” Dr.Bawumia assured.

The Vice President urged the management and staff of the Registrar General’s Department to adopt innovative approaches to maximise revenue and also customer satisfaction.

“I therefore urge staff and management of the Registrar General’s Department to intensify their stakeholder engagement programs through the use of all available channels, including print and social media to build consensus to enhance its revenue operations and boost revenue collection.

In addition, management should brainstorm and adopt other innovative revenue enhancing strategies to raise the level of compliance and transparency in the Ghanaian business registration system.” he said.

The automated business processes will reduce the human interface and turnaround time associated with registration. The e-Registration portal makes use of the Tax Identification Number (TIN) to distinguish portal users and the e-Certificate has been designed to provide flexibility, transparency and accountability for businesses.